Today we’d like to introduce you to Ken Warren.
Ken, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I grew up in Milwaukee, worked in a steel foundry after high school and started college at the age of 25. Following graduation, I entered the private financial sector. It was good work, but it was hard and I spent more time on the road than I did at home. Years later, when I realized that it was time for a change, a friend of mine introduced me to the international education field. There was a foreign credential evaluation agency in Milwaukee looking for a Russian speaker. I wanted a new job and I spoke Russian, so I became an evaluator. 7 years later I was hired by a larger evaluation agency in NYC to lead a team of evaluators. Living and working in NYC came with so many wonderful experiences, but after a couple of years, I wanted to move back to the Midwest to be closer to my family. With my foreign credential evaluation experience, my options were to work for a university or start my own company, so I started Educational Perspectives.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
The international education industry is one that changes almost daily, so a bumpy road for my new business was inevitable. I started EP in my apartment in Fulton Market in February of 2002 – 5 months after September 11, 2001. Anyone dealing with incoming international students during that time faced new challenges. The industry was adjusting to new, tougher student visa system and trying to convey to prospective students that they were welcome in the U.S. EP was to prepare foreign credential evaluation reports for these prospective students, so I gave my company 6 months to receive its first application before I called it quits. On July 15th, we got our first application.
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Educational Perspectives – what should we know?
We are a not-for-profit foreign credential evaluation agency – we prepare reports that determine the U.S. equivalency of non-U.S. degrees for the purposes of admission to an institution, employment and immigration. Our evaluators are experts in all countries and fields and preform regular research to stay abreast in foreign educational systems. Our work is thorough and our reports are complete in 5 working days. What sets us apart from our competitors is that our customers and institutional clients can directly contact us by phone, email or by visiting our office.
Our mission is two-fold: first, to assist individuals who need to have their international education recognized regardless of where they would like to study, work, or reside; second, to support universities and organizations that wish to enroll or hire individuals with a non-U.S. education. For example, we work with Loyola University Chicago to help them enroll students from all over the world. In regards to organizations that hire and support the immigrant and refugee community, we work with organizations like Upwardly Global to help recognize foreign education so that individuals can work in a field their qualified to work in.
We also have an unstated internal mission where we hire individuals who have academic backgrounds that don’t necessarily come with a direct career path. EP has given staff members, with degrees, for example in Italian Language &Literature, an opportunity to develop professionally in a career they never knew existed.
Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
The path through my career to what EP has become has been difficult, and it continues to be a challenge given the evolving nature of our profession. I have been fortunate to have been mentored by, and to work with leaders in international education. I have friends and colleagues with whom I’ve ‘grown up’ with in the profession, and EP has a dedicated and engaged staff that I admire. I am grateful for their loyalty and it gives me a sense of pride to work with them and pass on my experiences in the hope that they can do better.
Contact Info:
- Website: edperspective.org
- Phone: 312-421-9300
- Email: jdronkers@edperspective.org (media contact)
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EdPerspective/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/EdPerspective
- Other: https://www.linkedin.com/company/educational-perspectives
Image Credit:
Peter Rossi – PDR Productions
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